Could a procurement algorithm help your supplier search?

A new procurement service is hoping to match buyers with suppliers using a time-saving search algorithm.

Proovide founder Steve Pritchard, who runs a digital marketing business, says he came up with the idea after becoming frustrated with the amount of time he was spending seeking out potential suppliers. “I believed with all of the data available, I could make this process more efficient and transparent for customers and also deliver a cost-effective channel for suppliers to find new clients,” he said.

His site achieves this by collating data on potential suppliers, including customer feedback and credit rating, and using this to create a ranking table for a range of products. These metrics are also weighted in favour of suppliers who offer the highest level of transparency, meaning the more information they share, the greater the likelihood that Proovide will highlight their services.

Mr Pritchard added that the metrics used to define these rankings will be regularly reviewed to reflect buyer demand, so if users wish to see certain features incorporated or data highlighted, this can be included in the future.

Currently, the service is only focused on digital marketing and media professionals, but Mr Pritchard hopes to expand the product into other sectors, including business support, IT and recruitment.

Is technology the future of procurement?

Any service that saves time during the procurement process is sure to prove popular with professionals, but of course everything hinges on the end result.

If technology like this can demonstrate that it consistently provides the quality of supplier needed, it surely won’t be long before businesses adopt them as a matter of course.

Of course, another crucial element to a successful and efficient procurement process is a top quality team, and this is where Portfolio can help. We are specialists in matching businesses of all sizes to the calibre of procurement professional they need, from procurement officers to senior buyers and managers.

To find out more about how we can help you, call Portfolio Procurement today on 020 7650 3191.